Flag football prepares to launch a new season

Would you like to give your son or daughter a chance to run around a field chasing someone with a ball without fear of broken bones or other contact sport injuries? If so, flag football might be the sport for them.

Four years ago, Robert Finizio decided the kids in town might like to try a new sport. Today, all of Finizio's own children are grown, but the sport will continue for the next several years thanks to new volunteers stepping up.

In flag football, there is no tackling. Instead, defensive players must pluck a flag from the ball carrier's belt to stop him.

Matt Emsley, Jed Lindholm and John Watkins are filling Finizio's shoes and will be coaching teams of boys and girls as young as 6 and as old as 14.

"I got involved last year when my son, then a kindergartener, wanted to play. I work with the Division I kids, grades K-2," Emsley said.

"The league is funded through Amateur Athletics Union sports with help from the NFL," Emsley said. "I'm taking charge this year along with a number of other people who have stepped up so flag football won't die in town."

The cost to play is $50 per child with a maximum of $100 per family.

"That way if you have three kids that want to play, you only have to pay for two," Emsley noted.

Games are all played locally at the Houghton/ Chocksett fields and the season ends with a huge barbecue and trophy night.

"This is a great time for kids and their families to get together and really have some fun. It is a really good time for the kids," Emsley said. Flag football does not run by any hard and fast rules, according to Emsley. The idea is to get the kids into the game and playing as much as possible. Some of the players also participate in the Wachusett Flag Football league in the fall.

The difference between Pop Warner and flag football is the contact. Flag football also allows kids as young as kindergarten age to play.

"Bob chose to run this league in the spring, so that kids would have an alternative to Little League, although a number of kids do play both," Emsley said. "This sport constantly engages the kids and keeps them on the go all the time. It is awesome for active kids to have a chance to play.

"I am excited that so many parents have jumped in and said 'my kid loves this sport and I'm not going to let it die,' despite the fact that the founder of the league has moved on. Bob has done many things in town and I am thrilled that he started this four years ago and it will continue."

Registrations for the spring 2007 season are ongoing with March 31 as the last day to sign up. The sport is open to all boys and girls between the ages of 6-14. Age brackets are: Division I (ages 6-8), Division II (ages 9-11), and Division III (ages 12-14). All divisions are co-ed. Cost is $50 per child, with a $100 maximum per family.